Asics Hits Ground Running With Multi-Media Campaign At NYC Marathon

Asics Hits Ground Running With Multi-Media Campaign At NYC Marathon

Athletic sportswear and shoe company Asics, which is an official sponsor of the 2011 ING New York City Marathon, will unveil its 2012 national advertising campaign on Oct. 31, less than a week before the Nov. 6 event.

The campaign comes with a new tagline, “Stop at Never,” which the company said is meant to “evoke the passionate pursuit of athletic achievement that lives at the core of the Asics brand, its products and its athletes.”

Launch elements of the campaign will include an ad on the CNN digital board in Times Square, 50-foot banners hanging in the Time Warner Center, POP and bus wraps throughout the city. The company is also unveiling the Asics Marathon Experience at Columbus Circle, a spectacular interactive and informative exhibit including over 600 linear feet of exhibits and displays.

In addition, Olympic Marathoner Ryan Hall will be the face of “Stop at Never” via videos of his training for the 2012 Olympics.

In early 2012, “Stop at Never” will get TV, print and Internet, with a focus on social media. Lead agency is Vitro.

“The ING New York City Marathon is the perfect stage to announce our new ‘Stop at Never’ mantra,” ASICS vp-marketing Erik Forsell said in a statement. “‘Stop at Never’ perfectly encapsulates the essence of Asics and why Asics never stops innovating, developing new products and pushing the limits of athletic technology.”

During Marathon Week, ASICS also will expand its award-winning “Support Your Marathoner” program for the 2011 race. The program enables allowing people to send motivational pictures, texts, and video messages of support to the marathon runner of their choice. Messages will be show to the respective runners as they run past giant video screens placed along the course.

Last year, Asics said that more than 7,000 runners from 17 countries utilized the program and created their own virtual cheering sections.

This year, Asics will also debut the “Share Your Glory” Facebook application. The “app” lets runners update their social media community on their race progress in real-time by pre-writing three Facebook and Twitter posts which are then sent out as the marathoners pass each of three areas at the 9-, 13-, and 22-mile marks.